They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him. Malachi 3:17-18

Mission is everything that Jesus sent the church into the world to do, according to his words: “As God has sent me, I am sending you” (Jn 20:21). Jesus brought a whole gospel for the whole person (Lk 4:18-20). His ministry included demonstrating a new kingdom lifestyle (Jn 13:15; 17:21), proclaiming good news (Mt 28:20; Mk 16:15), healing the sick and delivering those bound (Mt 9:35; 10:1), mediating and integrating people who otherwise could never form a community (Mk 3:13-19), serving sacrificially (Mt 20:28; Lk 22:27), and finally challenging the powers in his final nonviolent act of self-giving on the cross (Col. 2:15). We who live in Christ are God’s vehicle for continuing God’s mission on earth. This mission should never be reduced to a privatized religion of personal salvation. Unfortunately, Christians frequently insist on doing this. Further, those who try to deal with root causes are often regarded with suspicion. Archbishop Romero of South America said that if he feeds the poor they call him a saint, but if he asks why the poor are poor they call him a communist. Mission must deal with root causes, not merely individual effects. Mission is what the people of God do to serve God and the world. Heavenly-mindedness enables us to address overwhelming human problems with a goal and an agenda, while not requiring that they be solved in our own lifetimes. In addition to our other activities, we lead the 5th Sunday worship services.

Jesus and Much More (JAMM) is our monthly 2nd Sunday Worship Service led by children and youth.The children and youth include missional and community activities in their monthly services. Our worship is inspired by the mercy of God. It is also directed to the pleasure of God. Traditional worship ends not with the arrogant thought “Did we like the worship service?” but with the humble awareness of God as the center of everything. So by acknowledging that God is God, a seemingly useless activity which wastes time and money, we are doing the most useful thing of all.

If there is no center, there is no circumference. If our lives are not heaven-penetrated, they will be material-threatened. If we lose our center, we will soon prove to be

both manipulated and manipulators. In worship we actualize the reality that

because they are ways of taking ourselves less seriously. Plato hated laughter.

The government discouraged it. The school you went to, probably, banned it.

But we laugh. We laugh heartily. Do you need a good laugh?

Come to our worship service!

Our Jazz worship service is every Sunday 8-9am. It provides all the nourishment without the unnecessary calories. We are restructuring (or de-structuring) worship to allow people to be surprised by God. Far from fixed and static conceptions of God, we make room for serendipity. Rigid structures, minimal expectations, habitual religion, and shriveled spirituality are like the stone in front of Lazarus’s grave. Only Jesus could bring him to life. But the friends of Lazarus could help bring their friend to life – they could roll the stone away. And Jazz worship inspires worshippers through music, meditation, and movement – to move the stones away.

We celebrate a wonderful past year but commit ourselves to even more lives coming to Christ in the days ahead. Join us in this journey of being God’s people in Southern Massachusetts. To provide meaningful, life-changing worship every week of the year, we offer a Jazz Worship Service at 8:00 am and 10:45am Worship Service. As faithful and fair practicing Christians, we use inclusive language at all services.